Continue reading Coca-Cola's first-quarter earnings shine bright

Coca-Cola's first-quarter earnings shine bright originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Coca-Cola (KO) aims to get strong global growth

Coca-Cola (KO) aims to get strong global growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) reported Q4 and full-year earnings today, and the Street liked what it saw. Personally, I'm a fan of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), mainly because I own the stock -- well, that's pretty much the only reason, since I actually prefer Pepsi's soda over Coke's (although I do like Diet Coke best of all). As of this writing, it's up about 5%.

Net revenue grew 17% for the fourth quarter and 12% for all of 2007. That's great double-digit growth, but the bottom line actually declined 29% in the fourth quarter and rose a flat 2% for the full year. That was on a GAAP basis. Excluding various items, net income actually grew 8% in Q4 and 13% in 2007. Full-year operating cash flow jumped 14%, and it was more than enough to cover capital spending and the blue-chip dividend (the latter of which is a key reason why investors put this stock on buy, hold, reinvest, and forget!).

Snack volume -- remember, Pepsi owns the tasty Frito-Lay portfolio and the Quaker brand -- grew 6%, while beverage volume expanded by 4%. Pepsi expects higher operating cash flow for fiscal 2008 -- $7.6 billion versus the $6.9 billion generated in 2007 -- and it is planning to continue share repurchases. Yes, I suppose I'd rather you buy shares in Coke since I own them, but truth be told, investors will probably do well owning either beverage company (I do concede that I envy the Frito-Lay asset).

Disclosure: Steven Mallas owns shares in Coke, and might buy more at any time.

PepsiCo slakes investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In titling this post, I was going to go with the inevitable pun of "Zero being The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Hero" but, unfortunately, The Wall Street Journal beat me to the punch. As consumers move away from soda and toward more healthful premium beverages (such as Vitamin Water, my personal favorite), Coke has had surprising success with Coke Zero, a zero-calorie version of Coke which apparently tastes less like poison than regular Diet Coke. According to Coca Cola Chairman and CEO E. Neville Isdell, the initial success of Zero makes it Coke's most successful new product launch in 20 years.

As a young consumer, I believe that Coke Zero's success is largely a function of slick marketing campaign. They've actually managed to make diet soda cool. The slick ad campaign, which included slick, GQ-esque ads, in addition to funny ads that invited readers to sign up for a class-action lawsuit suing Coke Zero for tasting too much like regular Coke.

As beverages from companies like Jones Soda gain in popularity and cache, the traditional soft drink companies will need to revitalize their images. Coke has done just that with Coke Zero and they will probably continue to experience success.

Coke Zero is no zero, it's a big hit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Anheuser-Busch expands in China, brings more beers into the US originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PepsiCo is scheduled to give its Q4 earnings review via live webcast on Thursday February 8, 2007. The PepsiCo website states that "the live webcast will be accessible through PepsiCo's website at http://www.pepsico.com, and will be archived for replay at the same website for a period of 14 days."

Based on estimates which PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) reaffirmed on October 20, 2006 in this press announcement, PepsiCo is expecting EPS of at least $3.31 prior to the effects of a completed tax settlement and a fourth quarter restructuring of manufacturing flow. PepsiCo states that core EPS should be at least $2.98. I'm expecting a penny or two more. The general consensus on investment blogs and message boards is that PepsiCo is doing well and will continue to do so. There's even some dialog about a stock split if PepsiCo reaches and holds $70 a share.

For third quarter 2006 PepsiCo had an impressive gain of 73% in EPS over the previous year but that was due in part to tax effects involved in the repatriation of cash in the year 2005. PepsiCo stated; "Excluding the impact of the prior year tax charge, EPS increased 12%.

An item of very significant interest is the fact that PepsiCo now offers a direct stock purchase plan via The Bank of New York. For as little as $260 you may now open an investment account and purchase PepsiCo shares. After your initial investment you may then add funds in increments as small as $50, and you may even set up your account for automatic monthly deposits. The fees associated with the Pepsico direct share purchase plan are almost non-existent. Review the purchase plan booklet I've linked to. I think you'll be pleased. They, with the assistance of Bank of New York, have made it very easy and inexpensive for you to become a share holder of the company. It's a situation which I myself plan to become involved with.

Playing into my declaration that water is a word for investors to watch for this year, PepsiCo will be pushing a new variation on its Aquafina brand. Aquafina Alive is a vitamin and flavor enhanced water which will be available in three flavor combinations.

Gary E. Sattler intends to take a position in Pepsico this year.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

Preview: PepsiCo earnings report should be a quencher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bernstein upgraded the U.S. Beverage Sector to Marketweight from Underweight because the group is trading closer to fair value.
  
• Bernstein upgraded Anheuser-Busch Cos (NYSE: BUD) to Market Perform from Underperform with a $54 target; the firm expects upside to earnings and valuation support.
  
• Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE: PBG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform with a $38 target; the firm believes negative earnings revisions from their third-quarter miss are over and 2007 guidance looks conservative.

• UBS upgraded Cooper Companies (NYSE: COO) to Neutral from Reduce to reflect the possibility of a takeout; they feel likely acquirers are Essilor or Alcon (ACL).

• Wachovia upgraded Volcom Inc (NASDAQ: VLCM) to Outperform from Market Perform; the firm's analysis indicate Volcom's brand remains strong, footwear is off to a good start and outerwear is not an area of exposure.

• Lehman Bros. upgraded shares of Vodafone Group ADR (NYSE: VOD) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

• Citigroup upgraded Nintendo ltd ADS (OTC: NTDOY) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades 1-11-07: Bernstein raises its glass to the U.S. beverage sector originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bank of America downgraded Kraft Foods 'A' (NYSE: KFT) to Neutral from Buy to reflect an outlook for higher input cost inflation as well as their caution ahead of the company's new strategic plan in February.

• Bear Stearns downgraded the U.S. beverage market to Market Underweight from Market Overweight, as they believe the defensive trade for the group may be over and sector leadership may be in the form of interest-sensitive stocks. Note that Bear Stearns kept their Outperform ratings on PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) and Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE: PBG).

• As Credit Suisse believes 2007 will be a year of slowing growth, they remains cautious on regional banks, which is not reflected in the valuations of BB&T Corp (NYSE: BBT) and National City Corp. (NYSE: NCC); both stocks were downgraded to Underperform from Neutral.

• Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair, citing high expectations, less-than-compelling cash flow story and difficult comps.

• Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) was removed from Morgan Stanley's Focus List, citing concerns of high inventories and the warm weather impact.

Analyst downgrades 1-4-07: Kraft takes a hit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Investors chose Coke over Pepsi in October

Investors chose Coke over Pepsi in October originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.